We live today in a culture that has a very distorted view of love and truth, and that has bled over into much of the evangelical church. I’m not necessarily talking about those who have completely departed from the faith. Many of these believers are still evangelical in their statements of faith, but they’ve begun to approve of homosexuality and celebrate abortion. Many of them have inadvertently adopted the world’s definitions of love and truth.
What are truth and love? These are two very important biblical concepts that we must have right based on what the Bible says they actually mean. The idea of attacking truth and perverting the idea of love is nothing new in human history. Even in the first century, Pilate said to Jesus, “What is truth?” (see John 18:38). Today, people declare that there is no absolute truth and that we need to find our own truths.
Isaiah stated, “Woe to those who call evil good and good evil, who put darkness for light and light for darkness, who put bitter for sweet and sweet for bitter!” (Isaiah 5:20, ESV).
These assaults on truth and love are actually assaults on God himself because God is love; God is truth. These are character attributes that are defined by God’s nature. “Jesus said to him, ‘I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me. If you had known me, you would have known my Father also. From now on you do know him and have seen him.’” (John 14:6-7). We cannot really love someone or something, though, while ignoring the truth. If our love is not based on the truth of the Bible and the divine, holy character of God, it is not really love.
The truth of God is not just knowledge that we have about him. There are unregenerated people who have great knowledge about scripture and Jesus. When God’s truth comes to live inside us through his Holy Spirit, however, it changes us. If the truth of God has transformed our hearts, it will abide with us forever.
The truth is a person, and his name is Jesus. Our relationship with him changes everything, and he allows us to love others genuinely.
Joshua West serves as the Pastor's Network Director at World Challenge helping equip and empower pastors all over the world. Joshua’s desire is to raise up ministers who will correctly and boldly preach the word with passion and integrity. The point of all his work and writings is to preach the gospel, glorify God and to teach sound doctrine.